Language

In the days when few could read and fewer still could write, the word record was used in its literal sense, “to get by heart; fix in the memory.” Its remote Latin source was re, back, and cor, heart, thus denoting that anything back in the heart was fixed in the memory. The more immediate … Read more

Midshipmen, in the sailing vessels of a century ago, were often familiarly called “reefers,” because, to quote an authority of that period, “they have to attend in the tops during the operation of taking in reefs.” That duty, especially in cold weather, would prevent the midshipman from wearing the long topcoat of an officer, but … Read more

The strange fish called the Remora, which attaches itself to moving objects by a curious sucking-disk along the top of its head, was known to ancient Roman navigators. The fish would attach itself to the bottoms or sides of their slow-moving sailing vessels, and it was believed that they acted as a drag to the … Read more

In its earliest use, rapture meant “an abduction,” especially the forcible kidnaping of a woman. It was formed, in analogy with “capture,” from rapt, at a time when rapt meant “abducted.” The Latin source was rapio, to snatch, seize, which became rape in English, and the Latin participle raptus, seized, was shortened to rapt. The … Read more

The dissolute man whom we now speak of as a rake was said to be a rakehell four hundred years ago, and we still sometimes use the older word. The original term was cynical and figurative. It came from the thought that one would have to rake hell to find a person so vile as … Read more

To many persons the term “requiem” merely denotes a dirge played or sung at a funeral service. Its source, however, is found in the opening word of the solemn mass sung, in Latin, in Roman Catholic churches for the repose of the dead. The first line is, Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine (Give eternal rest … Read more

Cervantes, in writing his most famous work, The History of Don Quixote, in it 605, stated that its “fabulous extravagances” should be interpreted as “only an invective against the books of chivalry” which had been riotously produced in Spain. There is reason to doubt the sincerity of that statement, however, because the books he referred … Read more

Perhaps the term “quisling” will not survive; few other names of traitors to their country have become part of the language of their owner, let alone being adopted into our speech. But the circumstances that made quisling a synonym for “traitor,” and quisle to mean “to betray one’s country,” have warranted the inclusion of both … Read more

The literal meaning of the Latin word “quorum” is “of whom.” But, like other of our words, such as “patter” and “omnibus,” quorum was once part of a Latin phrase, in this instance, a legal phrase. Originally, that is, it was a custom, among English justices of the peace, to name one, or perhaps two … Read more

Hunting dogs of the Middle Ages were as well trained as those of today and held their prey at bay until the hunters had arrived for the kill. As a reward for this restraint it was the custom to give the dogs certain parts of the animal, which was usually a stag. These parts were … Read more

The members of the Society of Friends sometimes use the name Quaker, but have never officially adopted it. The term is said to have been first applied to the founder of the Society, George Fox, according to Fox himself, in 1650 by Justice Bennet of Derby. Fox was being arraigned before two justices in Derbyshire … Read more

A hundred years ago the witty poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes, wrote the delightfully humorous Rhymed Lesson, in which he sought to correct various bad habits. Among them was the use of the word pants, which, he wrote, was “A word not made for gentlemen, but ‘gents.’” There are still some people who agree with him, … Read more

In 1788 a Scottish portrait painter, Robert Barker, succeeded in carrying out in practical form an idea that had previously been suggested by a German architect named Breissig. This was to produce and exhibit on canvas the effect of the continuous scene that is open to anyone who turns himself completely around at one spot. … Read more

Raffle was a game of chance in Chaucer’s time, played with three dice. Every player in turn strove to throw a triplet, but if no one made that lucky cast, the winner was he who threw the highest pair. The game and its name were of French origin.

The Lord’s Prayer was recited in the Middle Ages in very much the fashion that one often hears it today, especially by children, with great rapidity and with no shadow of understanding of the words. The difference is that in the Middle Ages the recitation was in Latin, so that few people knew what they … Read more

In ancient Greece, as well as in some modern countries, a bridegroom received some gift or dowry, money, cattle, or other property, along with his bride, usually from her parents. This dowry then became his, to dispose of as he might wish. But the bride might also bring with her certain personal property, such as … Read more

In prehistorical times much of southern India was occupied, apparently, by a black-skinned race of primitive people. Some time after the Aryan invasion, which may have been as early as 2000 B.C., these people were subjugated and forced into menial positions. Gradually, after the caste system was introduced, they became separated into different lowly classes. … Read more

In the year 1501 a mutilated old statue was dug up in Rome near the palace of Cardinal Caraffa. The statue was not identified, but the Cardinal, nevertheless, had it set up in the roadway at the corner of the palace. Opposite the spot where the statue had been found there had lived an old … Read more

The Old French source of the verb “patrol” was patouiller, and it then meant “to dabble in the mud.” The supposition is that French soldiers detailed to guard a camp at night found that their duty seemed to consist of nothing but tramping interminably back and forth in the mud, and thus adopted this word … Read more

When introduced from France in the thirteenth century, the word “pannier” denoted nothing more than a basket, originally for the carrying of bread, whence its name, from the Latin panarius, bread basket. But it had also come to mean a fish basket or, if of larger size, a basket for the carrying of provisions of … Read more

The Irish actor, Charles Macklin, retired from the London stage in 1753 at the age of fifty-four and opened a tavern near the Drury Lane theater, the scene of many of his successes. It became his custom, in his new role of innkeeper, to serve dinner personally. Then afterward he would deliver a lecture to … Read more

English readers of the fourteenth century were treated to a great story told by two different great writers. It was the story of the love of the Trojan prince, Troilus, for the beautiful Chryseis or Cressida. Boccaccio told the story, in Italian, in his Filostrato, basing it upon two legendary accounts of the siege of … Read more

The Roman military tent was often called taberna, a term that usually denoted a shop, because, like the shop, it was generally constructed of boards. This word was also the source of tavern, since many Roman shops sold wine and served as inns. It is also the source of tabernacle, which, as Latin tabernaculum, meant … Read more

When writing Paradise Lost Milton’s imagination led him to suppose a place that would serve as the capital of Hell, a place that would be inhabited only by the demons and which would be the meeting place and council chambers of all the evil spirits. He coined a name for this imaginary place and called … Read more

In the thirteenth century there appeared in France a few leaves containing a poem of love with the title Pamphilus, seu de Amore. The story became very popular, so popular that the small work became familiarly known as Pamphilet, just like the small book of Aesop’s Fables had been familiarly named Esopet. Hence, the English, … Read more

Although now the name of a popular cigarette and of a street in London, the names were both derived from an old outdoor game. The original game and its name were of French origin, literally a game of ball, pane, and mallet, maille. The game was popular in France in the sixteenth century and, when … Read more

Originally, the word “pale”, from the Latin palus, stake, meant just that, a stake to be driven into the ground. It had an especial meaning, also, a stake to be driven into the ground along with others, so as to form a fence. From the latter it came to mean a definite limit or boundary, … Read more

From 1309 to 1376 the papal see was located at Avignon in France. Clement V, pope from 1305 to 1314 never entered the Vatican in Rome. He was French, and so were the five popes who directly followed him. After Gregory XI transferred the seat of papal power again to Rome, Avignon continued in importance … Read more

The Greeks ascribed many things to their demigod Pan; among them, the power to inspire great fear or terror in one who saw or heard him, “Panic fear,” it was called. Through such unreasoning fear, it was said, the Persians were put to flight at the battle of Marathon, when Pan took up the cause … Read more

Originally, in ancient Greece, there was nothing derogatory in referring to a man as a parasite (Greek parasitos, from para, beside, and sitos, food). It then referred to a class of priests, probably, who feasted together after a sacrifice. At an early date, however, it was applied to one who, as a guest, ate at … Read more

Cameras and the production of pictures upon paper or glass had been made before the nineteenth century, but the first to produce permanent pictures by these means was Joseph Niepce of France, with the cooperation of his fellow countryman, Louis Daguerre. The process was first called heliographie, later dropped in favor of daguerreotype when the … Read more

Helios, in Greek mythology, had charge of the chariot of the sun. It was his duty to drive it each day from the ocean of the farthest east across the heavens and to the ocean of the farthest west. Thence, it was believed, Helios, his chariot, and the four horses that drew it were wafted … Read more

Today we have television. Before that we had motion pictures, or cinema. Earlier was the stereopticon, and before that the magic lantern. But in 1802 a man by the name of Philipstal introduced a device that was considered a great improvement upon the older magic lantern. In part the difference was that the figures to … Read more

How old the German custom of philopena might be, no one knows. It was probably brought to America in the early eighteenth century, but that is entirely a guess because the earliest written record is not until a century later. The custom was that if, in the eating of almonds, hazelnuts, or other like nut, … Read more

The early petticoat, or “little coat,” was worn by men. In fact, men continued to wear petticoats until the eighteenth century, although the garments were then usually called waistcoats. But the small coats worn by men of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were actually coats, not skirts, and were worn under the doublet.

Unknown to each other, several men were working simultaneously upon the same problem in the early years of the eighteenth century. The harpsichord had been developed two centuries earlier from the older clavichord, a distinct improvement; but the instrument, with its tones produced by the action of quills plucking the strings, was still too soft … Read more

This is a distorted spelling of the French words from which it is said to have originated, pied de grue. Some of the many English forms the word has taken since its introduction into the language in the early fifteenth century, were pee de grew, petiegrew, pytagru, peti degree, pedicru, to show just a few … Read more

Back in olden times, just as in many rural regions today, a man’s wealth was measured, not by the money he might have in the bank nor the land that he held, but by the cattle that he owned; that is, the number of sheep, cows, or goats that he had. Now the Latin word … Read more

In spite of the fact that these names apply to writing instruments which, nowadays, look something alike, and despite the fact that the three letters of one form the first syllable of the other, the sources of the two words are unrelated. Pen is derived from the Latin penna, a quill, feather, because, until the … Read more

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was born in Paris in 1721 of poor parents, but was early taken into the home of a wealthy financier and educated as if she were his daughter. She was extremely beautiful and received every social advantage. At the age of twenty she married the nephew of her benefactor, Lenormant d’Etoiles, and … Read more

In the sixteenth century, when the word “necklace” was introduced, its meaning was exactly that indicated by its two components, lace for the neck. But lace was not then what we usually consider it today. (See LACE.) Its meaning had expanded from a string or cord (still preserved in our word “shoelace”) and, in the … Read more

After the nymph Echo was permitted to speak only when she heard another voice and could then repeat only what she heard, (See ECHO) it was her further misfortune to fall in love with the youth, Narcissus. This young man, according to Greek mythology, was exceptionally handsome. There are several stories that account for his … Read more

In 1725-26 the English poet, Ambrose Philips, chiefly noted for his pastoral poems, published some simple pieces addressed to the infant children of his friends, Lord John Carteret and Daniel Pulteny. These little poems, though charming, would probably have attracted little attention had it not been for Alexander Pope. Some years earlier Pope and Philips … Read more

From the same source as pecuniary, the Romans coined the adjective peculiaris, which, though originally referring to one’s property in cattle, acquired a broader reference to personal property in general. From this, even in Roman days, peculiaris took on the more specific meaning, “one’s own; belonging particularly to one’s self.” Thus, a Roman slave, although … Read more

In the Grecian family there was one slave, especially selected for his prudence, whose duty it was to attend the sons of the family during boyhood. One of these duties was to accompany his charges when they went upon the public roads, to and from the gymnasium, or elsewhere. From the nature of his duties … Read more

Greek and Roman actors almost invariably wore masks in every dramatic appearance. Such a mask covered the entire face and was made with highly exaggerated features so as to be readily distinguished by the remote spectator. Thus, an actor, donning the proper mask, could assume any character that the drama called for. In a Greek … Read more

The story of pagan and heathen can best be told in the words of Archbishop Trench (1807-86) in his Study of Words: You are aware that pagani, derived from (Latin) pagus, a village, had at first no religious significance, but designated the dwellers in hamlets and villages, as distinguished from the inhabitants of towns and … Read more

Solvers of cross-word puzzles may sometimes wonder why newt and eft, such different words in appearance and sound, are apparently used interchangeably. When is a newt an eft, they may ask. The answer is that a newt is an eft in the United States, sometimes, and in some sections of England, but the usual name … Read more

In the last half of the thirteenth century a small band of Muslims moved eastward out of Persia into western Asia Minor. Their leader took them into the service of a local ruler, but after the death of that leader his son took the remnants of the band into territory still further to the west. … Read more

One after the other of the popes of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, upon ascending the papal throne, used its great power to further his own ambitions. To do so it was first advantageous to have important offices filled by men who would be tied to him. There were none better for that than members … Read more

When Paris abducted Helen from the home of her husband, Menelaus. in Sparta and fled with her to Troy, he wanted her to forget her family and former home. To that end, according to Homer, he gave to her an Egyptian drug, believed to allay grief and induce forgetfulness. This drug was known as nepenthe … Read more

In the early days of our language, in the times that we call Old English, the word “neighbor” was a compound word, made up of the two elements, neah and gebur. These separately have descended to us as “nigh” and “boor,” and that is exactly what neighbor originally meant, a nearby rustic or peasant, a … Read more

Chief among the famous seven hills upon which Rome was built, and most central of the seven, was the Palatine Hill, Mons Palatinus, as it was known, named for the Sabine goddess, Pales. According to tradition, this hill, selected by Romulus upon which to build the city, was ever the seat of government, and upon … Read more

Not all of the Greek gods were kindly. There was one, according to mythology, whose duty it was to sit in judgment upon men. Her name was Nemesis, thought to have been the daughter of Night. She measured out happiness and unhappiness, and saw to it that any who were too greatly or too frequently … Read more

The great Tamerlane invaded India in 1398, looting its treasures at will, but making no attempt to add it to his empire. But, in 1526, Baber, the fifth in descent in this illustrious line of eastern rulers, led another expedition southward. From this invasion India came under the rule of a long line of Mogul … Read more

Ancient nations, like fraternal orders of our day, always kept some of their religious rites and ceremonials hidden from the eyes of the multitude or from those not yet initiated. To preserve that secrecy the rites were sometimes observed at night or within some sanctuary. These were the secret parts of the worship, in which … Read more

The Greek term for “parable” was parabole; literally, “a throwing beside,” from para, beside, and ball°, to throw. But the Greek meaning of the compound word was “a placing beside”; hence, “a comparison,” and this is, of course, what we mean by parable, a comparison, in the form of an allegorical story, by which some … Read more

Our ancestors had a good sense of humor. With one accord, no matter in what part of Europe they lived, they agreed that the Romans had properly described a muscle by the name given to it. All, with variations arising from language of course, adopted that name. It is muscle also in French, muscolo in … Read more

Today it seems rather far-fetched to associate the word “museum” with the nine Muses of ancient Greece, for we do not usually think of these beautiful nymphs in connection with collections of paintings, furniture, insects, curios, or the like. Nor do we connect the term with any one of them, nor with the art over … Read more

John Eliot, so-called “apostle to the Indians,” had many difficulties when, in the middle of the seventeenth century, he was translating the Bible into the Indian language. There were so many words for which the Indians had no equivalent. Hence, when he came to the thirty-sixth chapter of Genesis, he lacked a word for “duke,” … Read more

Much of the business of Italian cities of the Middle Ages was conducted upon benches placed in the streets or public squares, especially in Venice. The Italian word for bench, banca, accounts for our English word “bank.” Usually the business thus conducted in public was of the ordinary serious nature, but there were also itinerant … Read more

Literally the Old French expression “mortgage”, introduced into the law courts of England after the Norman Conquest, meant a “dead pledge,” from wort, dead, and gage, pledge. The reason for calling the legal instrument a “dead pledge” was given by the great English jurist of the seventeenth century, Sir Edward Coke, in these terms: It … Read more

The Roman poet Ovid found a need for a new god while writing the poem, Metamorphoses, a series of stories written by him a few years before his banishment in A.D. 8. This series is devoted largely to the adventures of the gods in their amatory pursuits of nymphs and the daughters of mortals. While … Read more

Early types of artillery developed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were usually named after the venomous serpent or swift bird of prey to which they were likened. Most of these names are now archaic, along with the artillery, and we are no longer familiar with the names of some of the animals. There was … Read more

To this day in parts of the world, as among some African tribes, persons suspected of a crime are tested with a red-hot iron. He who can have it pressed against his flesh without a blister forming is adjudged innocent; he upon whom a blister forms is guilty. Such a test, or one of similar … Read more

Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japheth. And the sons of Ham; Cush and Mizraim, and Phut and Canaan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod … Read more

The plague that beset England in 1563-64 terrified the populace. A thousand people were reported to have died from it each week in London alone, while everyone feared that it might reach the terrific toll of the Black Plague of the fourteenth century when two-thirds or more of the population of the entire country was … Read more

Here we have a curious pronunciation. As seen from the words alone and atone, which are really compounds formed from all one and at one, an early sound of one was identical with our present word “own.” Our word “only,” once written “onely,” still preserves the old pronunciation. There were variances, of course, but that … Read more

The ancients would not think of entering upon any important undertaking without first consulting the will of the gods. (See also AUGUR.) Perhaps this was partly curiosity as to the outcome of future events, but more probably it arose from a deep reverence for their gods and a belief that nothing should be undertaken without … Read more

The French ambassador to Lisbon in 1560, Jean Nicot, became curious about some seeds that he saw. They had been brought from the new continent of America a year or two earlier and were said to be seeds from the curious plant that the Spaniards called “tobacco.” Some of the seeds were courteously presented to … Read more

From early times men have been in the custom of giving to their acquaintances some name considered to be more fitting than the name given by the parents. It is an added name, one in addition to the name already borne. In olden England, when eke meant to “add,” such an added name became known … Read more

When Athens adopted the constitution, in 508 B.C., that was intended to make it an ideal democratic state, unique provision was made that no one should again be able to exert his wealth or power and seize the reins of government. Each year, at a stated assembly of the populace, the question was asked whether … Read more

Perhaps to frighten birds away, or perhaps to propitiate the gods, it was the custom of ancient Roman vintners to hang little images of the face of Bacchus upon their vines, to be swung by the breeze and turned in all directions. The supposition was that in whatever direction the faces were turned about, the … Read more

German miners looking for copper were often baffled by an ore which, though it had an appearance of copper, yielded none whatsoever when it was tediously excavated, brought to the surface, and treated. Time and time again they were fooled by this stuff. They thought it must be that a demon or sprite had entered … Read more

Oddly enough, omelet comes to us from the Latin word lamina, a plate, by virtue of several modifications in passing through French. The Romans had earlier created lamella to denote “a small plate.” This became la lemelle, the thin plate, in French, and, in manner very similar to the alteration of English an ekename to … Read more

Just as in the Roman Empire of the East the master of the stable, comes stabuli, became count of the stable, his title eventually altered to constable, so in the West was the history of our word marshal. Under the kings of the Franks the mariscalcus, to use the Latin form of the old Teutonic … Read more

When the young king of France, Louis XIV, decided to take the reins of government into his own hands in 1660, after the death of Mazarin, the former minister, he appointed as his war minister a youthful military genius, Francois Michel le Tellier Louvain. The young minister, he was only nineteen at the time, promptly … Read more

It isn’t a certainty, but it is the belief that match, referring to the article with which we make fire, is a descendant from the Greek word myxa, which meant mucus from the nostril. This may seem far-fetched, but the course is reasonably straight. Greek myxa gave rise to Latin my xus, which by metonymy … Read more

“Noon” did not always refer to the middle of the day, as we always understand it now to mean. It formerly meant three o’clock. That is, in the Roman system of reckoning, the day began at sunrise, or six o’clock, as the average time of sunrise. The principal meal of the day, dinner, was served … Read more

March, the name of the third month in our calendar, denoted the first month in the Roman year before the reforms made under Julius Caesar. (See JANUARY.) We commonly think of the Roman god Mars, for whom the month was named, as their god of war, equivalent to the Greek god Ares, and think it … Read more

The word “manure” was originally a verb, its origin the Old French verb manouvrer. Thus, in the fourteenth century, it meant “to work by hand; especially, to work the soil by hand; to cultivate the soil.” From that came the noun, which at first meant “that which may be worked by hand; the action of … Read more

The plant we know as “mandrake” was formerly known as mandragora, which is still its scientific name. Five or six hundred years ago, however, although actually of Greek source, this name was thought to be a combination of man and dragon. But at that time a dragon was commonly known as drake; so mandragora became … Read more

Homer and Plato knew about the magnet. The ancients, that is to say, had discovered a peculiar stone native to the neighborhood of the town of Magnesia, in Thessaly, which had the power of attracting small pieces of iron. They called it magnes, from the name of the town, or more frequently, lithos Magnetis, stone … Read more

In theory, at least, this delicacy should always be made of or contain quince, for such is implied by the name. Or to be even more exact, if the fruit were available, it should be a “honey-apple,” which was anciently obtained through grafting some kind of apple upon the quince stalk. The Greek name for … Read more

On the morning of June 4, 1859, in the series of wars for a unified Italy, the French and allied Italian armies, though of inferior strength, fell upon the Austrian army defending Milan in the vineyards and mulberry groves about the small town of Magenta. (See also FIFE.) This battle, which subsequently was known by … Read more

The word “maelstrom” now means any strong power that seems to influence one irresistibly, especially a power composed of conflicting forces which seem to engulf one. That meaning is figurative. It is derived from the name, Maelstrom, which means whirlpool, given to a certain strong tidal current found near the island of Moskenes off the … Read more

In the early years of the nineteenth century numerous chemists and inventors were trying to find satisfactory ways to utilize the baffling substance known as “rubber.” The substance got that name because the one thing for which a use had been found for the stuff was to “rub” out lead-pencil marks. The most notable success … Read more

The late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries produced a great Florentine student of political affairs. He lived at the time of the Borgias and de Medicis and it is undoubted that his chief work, 17 Principe, was greatly colored by his knowledge of the practical politics played by those two unscrupulous families. He was Niccolo … Read more

John Mercer was born in Lancashire, England, in 1791. He became a calico printer. When he was fifty-three years old he discovered a chemical process by which cotton fabric became thicker and softer and its affinity for dyes greatly increased. He patented the process in 1855, but no practical use came of the discovery for … Read more

From early in the sixteenth century traders from Milan flocked into England with the products of their city and of Lombardy. Steel work was a large part of the manufactures they brought, but their chief articles of commerce were textile fabrics. Milan bonnets, Milan gloves, Milan lace, Milan ribbons were in great demand. The English … Read more